It's finally spring and you're ready to find the right Wellesley MA area home for sale. We've put together some tips to help make your Wellesley MA home buying process go smoothly.

1. Find the Right Real Estate Professional. This is such an important step and will truly make the difference in the home you buy, your stress level and the money you ultimately spend.

2. Make sure you are Pre-Approved for a Mortgage. You've heard it said before, but it's true, you need to know how much you can afford. Unless you are buying in cash you'll need a financing source and you'll need to know how much that source is willing to finance.

3. Create a 'Must Have" List. This is your list of non-negotiable's and allows your agent to select only listings that meet the qualifications of this list, so that you're not looking at every home on the market and wasting your valuable time.

 4. Open yourself up to Suggestions. Share your must have list with your Real Estate Agent. They will be able to make suggestions that you may not have considered about the style or type of home/neighborhood you are looking at and could ultimately change your requirements or amenities list.

5. Make sure to check out the Neighborhood. Now that you've found your home, walk the neighborhood at different times of the day, and even at night. Talk to neighbors to find out about the people, what they like, dislike, recommendations etc. Make sure it would be a good fit for you and your family.

6. The Home Needs to be Inspected! You'll need to make sure that YOU walk through the home and do a total checklist of your own. But you aren't a professional inspector so make sure you hire one to go through the home, once that has been done make sure you follow through on all of their recommendations.

7. Submitting a Reasonable Offer. This is another reason why you need to work with a local Real Estate agent. Understanding the local housing market, the inventory of homes, home values and if a home may get multiple bids is all information that goes into the offer YOU will make.                                                                                                                                                        

8. Understand the Process & the Paperwork. Your agent should have gone through all of this with you in the beginning of your search, but don't hesitate to ask questions along the way. This can be an overwhelming process at times. Once you have found a home you will be advised to seek an Attorney to handle the legal aspects of the sale of the home.

9. Stick to Your Pre-determined Price. It's always tough to have your heart set on a home and lose it in a bidding war, but it is much worse to go above what you can afford! It is better to find a second home that you like "almost as much" as the first so that you have something to lean back on if the situation arises.                                                                                  

10. Don't expect the Sellers to make too many Improvements.Things like worn carpeting and countertops are figured into the sales price of the home upfront, so trying to get the homeowner to make more adjustments at the end can be difficult. Rely on your agent to know what is permissible and what isn't.

 For more Wellesley MA home buying tips check out our website at www.teamlynchrealestate.com. We've lived and worked in the Wellesley MA  area for 20+ years and would be happy to give you a tour of our town and all the great homes for sale. Give us a call any time!

We've all heard the old adage....."walk a mile in someone else's shoes", but how can that apply to getting your home ready to put on the Wellesley & Metrowest Boston Housing market and showing it to potential buyers?  Easily....you need to start thinking as a "Home Buyer", and not as a Home Seller.  Here are a few tips to use before welcoming potential Buyers to your home:

1. Have a Friend Pre-Listing Party. Yes, that's right, invite a few of your trusted friends over, crack open a bottle of wine and go room to room with a notepad.  Have them objectively look at each room and give suggestions as to what they would change, or would be a red flag, if they were to seriously look at your home as a potential buyer.                                                                   

2.  Next...Consult a Great Real Estate Agent!  Run your list of fixes, the ones you have accumulated in your your pre-listing party,  by your agent and find out which ones are worth the fix for the money, or not. Your agent will also go over your Homes Value and develop a personalized marketing plan with you.

3. De-Clutter!  I know, we've said this over and over again.  But it bears repeating because it's so important.  Let's take a closet as an example:  Taking 1/2 of your clothing off of a closet rack and shelves, then neatly reorganize what is left. It will make your closet look much larger.  Another area....extra furniture.  Extra furniture usually get's shoved to the corners of a room.  Instead, rent a storage unit and take out a large majority of the furniture so that you can stage each room to take advantage of the size, space and nuances of that room.  

4. Think Neutral.  Now, We're like everyone else, We love pops of color throughout the home and  think a home feels a lot warmer and cozier with color.  But if you're putting your home on the market, you need to go neutral. It is hard for a potential buyer to envision themselves in a home that has "you" written all over it.  Neutral colors paint the picture of a blank canvas which gives your potential buyer the feeling that they can create their own painting or oasis of a home.

5. Clean out your garage.  We are all guilty of using the garage for storage, but trust me, your buyer wants to know that their vehicles are going to be able to fit in the garage.  Again, even if you need to rent a storage unit, get out all those boxes, and seasonal supplies that are not in use.  Make it clean and ready for vehicles.

6. Make sure Hardwood Floors are gleaming!  People in general love hardwood floors, but nothing is worse than looking forward to seeing a home with hardwood floors and finding a home with dull, scratched hardwood....... that you know you'll have to spend time and money to refinish!   A simple soapy wash followed by a rejuvenating floor polish will do wonders to make your hardwood floors look like new....and only cost around $50!

7. Restore your natural stone, tile and grout. If your bathrooms and kitchen tiles have lost their luster you may want to look into getting them refreshed.  Professional restoration services are available in most cities and are relatively cheap compared to a complete renovation, and can make your kitchens and bathrooms look new again. Well worth the money involved since these two rooms are the top two rooms of importance in a home search.

Local home improvement stores have trained personnel and many classes available to train you in many of the techniques to restore what you have in place in your homes today versus having to do total renovations.  Utilize their expertise to help make  the preparation for your selling process go smoothly and quickly.